Planning Ahead

By Alex Shapiro

Unlike many others in the trade, Phyllis Bergman, president of Mercury Ring Corporation, has seen surprisingly little change in her business. The reason lies in a decision taken 16 years ago to move into the bridal business.

Listening to customer needs is another decision Bergman can mark as a success. Her factory is in suburban New Jersey, neighboring the Island of Manhattan. While she does have to compete head on with cheaper imports originating mainly from India and China, she contends that the ability of Mercury Rings to deliver a product to consumers in a relatively short amount of time gives her a key advantage – one that she is making the most of today.

But, even with the stability of the bridal market, Bergman is always looking for new opportunities. For example, the company has become the distributor for a foreign wedding band manufacturer. “It will never be what it was,” she says of the jewelry business. Instead, “there is a lot more work in

the business-to-business arena conducted over the Web.”